Shoots & Roots: Growing Our Businesses Together

 

Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.

Julia Cameron, The Artists Way

Hello April! Is it Spring where you are? Outside my window snow and ice are coating all the little buds and shoots in the garden, school is closed for a snow day, I’m starting to wonder if maybe Spring has forgotten us so it is the perfect time for a growing theme! Nurturing a business or garden is always easier when the conditions are right, the soil is rich, and the sun is gentle but doing the same work when the ground is frozen solid is a whole lot harder. Both challenge us to grow and change in different ways and need totally different tools if we want our creative gardens to thrive.

This month on OMHG we will explore the many ways we grow our businesses and creativity from the shoots to the roots. We’ll gather the tools we need to plant, tend, harvest and bring to market all our cultivated goodness while building our businesses in a mindful way-want to join us?

We’re looking for submissions on how business and gardening overlap from the shoots to the roots. Share your stories, illustrations and knowledge on:

• Growing a creative business

• Cultivating and nurturing our creativity/community/businesses/selves…

• Tools & resources for creative or business growth

• Printable inspiration for growing & blooming

• Harvesting & preserving-once we’ve grown our business how do we preserve & ensure we’re ready for leaner seasons

• Tips on growing in healthy, smart, sustainable ways

• Are you a business owner + gardener/beekeeper/seed saver-tell us how those skills relate to your work

• Interviews about growth with creative makers and entrepreneurs

• Case studies of businesses growing beautifully or overcoming challenges in order to thrive

• Survival tips on keeping your business healthy & resilient through hard time

• Taking a step back or scaling down-stories of when growth is not the best option

• Have another idea? Share it!

>> SUBMIT TO OUR THEME BY APRIL 15 HERE <<

*OMHG community members log in before you submit your posts!*

The OMHG community has grown and changed so much over the last 4+ years, together we’ve taken crazy steps forward and also some steps back. I’ve loved watching so many of you grow your businesses in amazing ways and also been inspired when people have stepped back to focus on family or other dreams. The last 14 months have taught me that growing a business or a life that we love isn’t a straight line from start to finish, like Julia says-it is an erratic movement full of ups and downs, stops and starts. This month let’s share our stories and be gentle with each other as we grow, so even if there is ice and snow (of the literal or more businessy type) we know we’ve already prepped our gardens for the storm.

Do you think growing a business is like growing a garden? Share your thoughts in the comments & join in on our weekly #OMHG chats to discuss with other makers + entrepreneurs!